The invention relates to a method of recording an index signal in a dictating tape recorder, and more particularly to such a method used in a recorder of the type in which a single button is utilized to switch the recorder to each of a stop, a playback, and a record position.
A dictating tape recorder, also referred to as a dictating machine, comprises a conventional tape recorder which is modified so that an index signal can be recorded during a record mode. The index signal is utilized to provide a demarcation between recorded material which is to be typed or transcribed during a playback operation of the recorded magnetic tape and recorded material which represents a remark or instruction on the recorded content to be typed and which is not to be typed or transcribed.
The index signal is recorded in a dictating tape recorder by a procedure which is typically referred to as a cue operation, namely, by operating a cue button during a record mode of the tape recorder. However, in the prior art construction, the cue button is provided separately from record, playback and stop buttons, resulting in an increased space requirement and a complex operation and also involving the likelihood of causing a degradation in the appearance of the tape recorder.
On the other hand, in the art of dictating machines, there has been proposed a dictating machine which may be used in combination with a heat sensitive paper to provide an indication of the proportion, on a document to be prepared, of the space which will be occupied by the recorded content and the remaining blank space before the recorded content is directly typed or transcribed on a document, by utilizing a cassette tape in which a pair of index signals of different frequencies are recorded. By way of example, a first index signal of 400Hz and a second index signal of 60Hz may be used, recording the first index signal immediately before the outset of the recorded content and recording the second index signal immediately after the end of the recorded content. When the tape is played on the transcribing machine, a mark is put on the heat sensitive paper in response to the detection of the first index signal, and another mark is put thereon in response to the detection of the second index signal. In this manner, the length between the two marks enables the length of a single sentence or the location of line feed in the recorded content to be recognized beforehand. With this transcribing machine, the layout of the recorded content on the document can be advantageously determined. However, the incorporation of a mechanism which is designed to record these two kinds of index signals into a dictating tape recorder requires a substantial amount of additional space and also involves a complication in its construction, resulting in a complex operation of the overall mechanism.